1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a two-piece armored cab system.
2. Background Art
Conventional armored vehicles (e.g., vehicles used for military or security related applications) typically have protective armor surrounding the cab (i.e., cabin, passenger compartment, etc.) region of the vehicle. Such protective armor is intended to provide occupants of the cab (e.g., driver, passenger, etc.) a desired degree of protection from hostile attack via explosive devices, mortar rounds, small arms fire, grenades, and the like. The protective armor surrounding the cab on a conventional vehicle is typically implemented to provide a single-piece armored vehicle cab where the armor is implemented as multiple pieces of armor that are fastened to a unitary infrastructure.
Protective armor usually adds a significant weight to the armored vehicle. Protective armor can also add to the overall height of the vehicle. Such additions to the weight and height of the vehicle can make the vehicle difficult to transport to a desired use location. In particular, armored vehicles are often transported by airplane to a location of immediate need as other modes of transportation do not provide the speed of deployment desired. One particular problem sometimes encountered (e.g., with some cab-over and cab-forward vehicles) is that the concentrated weight of an armored vehicle at a wheel or axle location may exceed the cargo carrying capacity of the floor structure of the airplane.
Conventional approaches to the air shipment of armored vehicles typically are implemented by shipment of the vehicle in an unarmored or partially armored condition, and remote field installation or reinstallation of the complete armor package that includes many individual sections of armor. The field installation of the armor package can be excessively time consuming and extremely onerous to the individuals who perform the installation as facilities to aid the installation are often very limited and the number of armor components that are to be installed is often numerous. The user of conventional armored cab vehicles typically has two choices (i) attempt to transport a vehicle that has a single piece (unitary) armored cab that can exceed weight and heights limits, and (ii) transport the unarmored or partially armored vehicle and install numerous armor components on the vehicle when the vehicle has reached the desired destination.
Thus, there exists a need and an opportunity for an improved armored cab system. Such an improved system may overcome one or more of the deficiencies of the conventional approaches.